The girl’s heart raced, her panicked breaths slipping from her lips.

  A grotesque anomaly, a human-shaped amalgamation of machinery, strangely beautiful in its eerie design… The man, tethered to a life-support system, immobile, glanced at the girl, sighed deeply, and tapped the console with bony fingers.

  “Little girl, it’s not your time to be here. Leave. Don’t show your face until the appointed moment. The plan allows no deviations, no errors. It’s a blueprint—meticulously designed, executed with long-term vision to bear fruit. Your father should’ve taught you that.”

  His voice sharp with irritation, he manipulated eight mechanical limbs, grabbing the girl’s arm and hoisting her into the air.

  “I despise humans. They defecate mindlessly, lose reason to emotion, and charge forward foolishly. Fools who abandon innate wisdom make me sick; idiots finding happiness in this endless now should just die. Little girl, are you human? A sage? Or a beast in human skin? Bah… it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to see your face.”

  Sighing again, he stared at her, tapping the armchair’s armrest. Hard metal clashed with dry nails, flaking skin and crumbling calcium with each strike.

  His abyss-dark eyes held no trace of hope, his cold tone revealing deep contempt for humanity. Deeming all life but his own worthless, mocking existence as meaningless vermin, he sneered, casting a scornful glance at the girl.

  “Life is power, death is loss. To not forget is pain; to not lose is suffering. Fine then—humans repeat the same mistakes, writhing in pain even if they try again, tormented by suffering. Reduced to near extinction, devouring each other like ghouls. Errors breeding on this cursed star, Earth. Little girl, I’ve always thought… humans are unnecessary, waste to this planet.”

  Swirling anger and a death wish burned in his pitch-black eyes. Resigned, cornered, lending his strength to the girl’s father’s plan, the nameless man—Nameless—reflected her in his sunken eyes, his skeletal chest heaving.

  No one countered Nameless’s words or challenged the plan. He was its core, bearing its burden alone. Security overrides for the ark, swapping surveillance feeds, fabricating audio, technical support… Without Nameless, the paradise her parents sought would fail, the plan collapsing. Thus, no one dared speak against him, treating him like a pariah.

  But… the girl, terrified of Nameless, sensed a flaw in his words. In his disdain for humanity, his hopeless perspective, she found a subtle contradiction—a simple truth hidden beneath the veneer of passion. Struggling while suspended, glaring at Nameless with prismatic eyes, she shouted, “You say that, but you’re human too!!”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “…”

  “Mocking humans, denying life, calling it meaningless or worthless—you’re human, aren’t you?! Denying humans is just denying yourself!! No matter how fancy your words, how grand your phrases, you’re seeking hope in humanity!! That’s why you’re helping Dad, Mom, everyone—”

  The steel gripping her released, catching her gently as she fell. Set softly on the cold metal floor, the girl faced Nameless’s lingering, sardonic smile.

  “True, I’m human too, little girl. No matter how I deny or reject it, I can’t escape the heart’s emotions. I curse and mock others with anger, but as long as I’m bound by feelings, I can’t fully cast off humanity. I hate humans… those who make unkept promises, who say they don’t want to die yet sacrifice themselves for others, those swayed by irrational desires—they’re imperfect. But… even so, I must pay some respect to their fleeting beauty.”

  He gazed at a bubbling culture capsule.

  “…Little girl.”

  “Eve.”

  “…”

  “My name’s Eve, not ‘little girl.’ Your name’s Nameless, right?”

  “…Yes. Nameless—a fitting name for one stripped of it, who’s lost everything. Eve… I see, a twist on ‘Eve,’ huh? Kamishiro…”

  “Dad said you’re his friend. Grumpy, but reasonable. Nameless, why do you hate humans so much?”

  “…Kids are a pain, barging into people’s minds. My hatred of humans is innate… born with me, you could say. I think my mother was foolish for birthing a calamity like me, my father complicit in the sin. If I hadn’t been born, humans might’ve gone extinct sooner, and Earth could’ve slowly healed. Eve, I… I hate myself. If I didn’t exist, if I’d never been born, humanity wouldn’t be trapped in this birdcage. So—”

  I want to die. Living’s pointless, so I want to die and be free. Or start over… Muttering tiredly, Nameless lowered his eyes, tapping the armrest lightly.

  “…Don’t say you want to die,” Eve said.

  “…”

  “Without you, Dad, Mom, and everyone’s plan would collapse. Dad said this is humanity’s last chance—to live on the surface again, we need the plan to succeed. If you’re gone… humanity’s truly finished. So—”

  “So I must suffer more? Chew through more pain, slaughter more lives? You’re just using me, no different from those above. You push all the guilt on one man, unwilling to share the suffering, you cowards. I see… Kamishiro sent you here, didn’t he? His sanctimonious sweetness… his false kindness torments me, doesn’t it? Eve, you—”

  Eve stepped closer, climbing the machine heap, locking eyes with his obsidian gaze. Raising her hand, she slapped his bony cheek. The sharp sound of flesh echoed amidst the mechanical hum, and Nameless, stunned by pain after over a century, wore a bewildered expression.

  “You’re not the only one suffering! I don’t know your story or how you’ve lived! But… someone who barely talks to people has no right to say such things with conviction, right, Nameless?”

  “…”

  “Being alone in this dark room is what’s wrong. Nameless, do you have friends?”

  “…Long ago, I had one. He… everyone liked him.”

  “I won’t ask about him. Nameless, if you’re okay with it… I’ll be your friend. I’ll come here when I’m free, so you better be ready to talk properly, got it?”

  “…The plan allows no deviations. You’re supposed to come here later—”

  “Don’t give me that rigid nonsense. What do you want?”

  “…If it’s just sometimes, when I have time, I don’t mind. Eve, you—”

  “Then I’ll come tomorrow, after training and education!”

  “Wait, Eve—”

  Watching her dash out with light steps, Nameless rubbed his warmed cheek, a faint smile softening his stern expression as he turned to the monitor.